NEW YORK – Call it a special delivery. A postal carrier pocketed dozens of greeting cards he was supposed to deliver to get at the cash inside, postal inspectors said. He was found with more than 130 pieces of other people’s mail in his car, according to a court complaint. Michael Olivio was released on his own recognizance Thursday following his arrest the previous day, court records show. The exact charges against him were not listed in court records available early Saturday, and a spokesman for prosecutors did not immediately return a telephone call. Olivio said he was “not allowed to talk,” and his lawyer, Michelle Gelernt, declined to comment. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREWhicker: Clemson demonstrates that it’s tough to knock out the champPostal authorities started getting complaints in June about greeting cards getting lost en route to residents of a Brooklyn ZIP code, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Special Agent Stephen Dolloff said in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. It wasn’t clear how much cash Olivio is accused of taking. 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!read more

Michael Ring TD, Minister for Rural and Community Development, was today joined by Government colleagues and members of rural communities from Donegal, Sligo and Mayo at a #RuralOpportunity event in Bluestack Hall, Drimarone, Co Donegal.The event was focused on raising awareness of the wide variety of Government supports available to rural areas throughout the region. The event also provided advice on how to access Project Ireland 2040 funding for rural, or community, projects.Minister Ring was joined at the event by Joe McHugh TD, Minister for Education and Skills and Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development. Groups from rural areas in Donegal, Sligo and Mayo, that have an interest in accessing Government supports, were invited to attend.The audience heard from a number of individuals, from the region, about how funding has enabled them to deliver their successful projects:Included was Pól McFadden, Chairperson of the Falcarragh Parish Development Association spoke about how the delivery of a new community centre was supported by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the LEADER programme.Speaking at the event, Minister Ring said that the case studies presented at the event are inspiring. He said “Just listening to the people speak here today about how funding for rural projects is strengthening communities and building resilience has certainly inspired me. I hope that these stories will encourage others to apply for funding for their projects. Across Government we have made the supports available to assist projects that are sustainable and will make Ireland a better place for us all.”He added “I think it is particularly appropriate that we are here in Donegal today for this event. Through Project Ireland 2040 we have an extremely ambitious plan for investment in Border regions and I want to take this opportunity today to reassure everyone that supporting communities in the border area is a priority for the Government.”Minister McHugh congratulated Minister Ring on this initiative and also for all of his support for projects here in Donegal.He said “Project Ireland 2040 is a major investment by the Government. We are doing this to make sure that as the population of the country grows we have balanced regional development and rural areas are attractive places for families to live.“We have many skilled and talented people living in rural areas and in order to retain them we have to invest in rural infrastructure. These rural opportunity events show that we are prepared to do that.” Minister brings #RuralOpportunity to Donegal was last modified: April 12th, 2019 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)read more

Singer and Aids activist Zinhle Thabethe in full flight in the documentary film iThemba/Hope.Janine ErasmusThe National Geographic Society has named South African HIV/Aids activist Zinhle Thabethe as one of its Emerging Explorers for 2008, as part of a programme that recognises and supports uniquely gifted individuals from fields as diverse as music, space exploration, anthropology and mountaineering.Diagnosed with HIV in 2001, Thabethe (30) works with HIV/Aids awareness programme iTeach, an initiative of Harvard Medical School in the US. The organisation focuses its activities exclusively on KwaZulu-Natal, a province hit hard by the HIV/Aids pandemic, operating out of Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg.Launched in 2004 as part of National Geographic’s mission of “inspiring people to care about the planet”, every year Emerging Explorers honours a select group of outstanding young pacesetters who are making a difference in their chosen fields. Each of them, the society says, has the potential to become an Edmund Hillary, Jacques Cousteau or Dian Fossey.Candidates are nominated by a global network of experts, with no unsolicited applications considered. National Geographic looks for innovators who stand on the threshold of a promising career in exploration and whose recent accomplishments show a potential for future breakthroughs. They are given a grant of US$10 000 (about R76 000) to help them fulfil that promise.At iTeach, Thabethe works with those infected with HIV, inspiring and educating them, and helping them to access treatment.She is also a leading member of the 30-member Sinikithemba Choir, based at the Sinikithemba HIV/Aids Christian Care Centre. All the choir members are HIV-positive.Sinikithemba, which means “we bring hope”, is linked to the McCord Hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. The hospital specialises in treating Aids patients: some 70% of its admissions HIV-related and about 40% of women who give birth there are infected.Sending out a global messageSinikithemba’s mission is to treat the person as well as the illness, helping the HIV-positive to live a normal and productive life. The organisation’s choir uses music to challenge prejudice against those with HIV/Aids.“By living and performing publicly as HIV-positive people, we show that Aids can be a controllable, treatable disease,” Thabethe says. “People can live productively, positively, and be happy for the moments they have.”The choir has performed with Sir Elton John, and sang at the opening session of the 10th annual Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, held in Boston in 2003, where they shared the stage with Bill Clinton. The former president’s Clinton Foundation works towards not only treating Aids but also preventing its spread.Thabethe and the Sinikithemba Choir were featured in an hour-long documentary titled iThemba: Hope, which chronicles the choir’s work in the fight against HIV/Aids. The film has been screened at film festivals across the world, including the Media That Matters festival, the Alliance Francaise French festival held in South Africa, and the film festival hosted at the 2005 International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa in Abuja, Nigeria.Living with HIVAfter an initial toxic reaction to her treatment, Thabethe is now on a successful antiretroviral programme that helps her avoid opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and meningitis.Since her diagnosis in 2001 she has educated herself about her condition and the ways in which it can be managed. She has overcame a number of obstacles – limited education, poverty and ostracism by those around her – to establish herself as an inspiration to her community and country, showing them that antiretrovirals can make a difference, and that HIV need not be a death sentence.In an interview with National Geographic, Thabethe said it helps to understand the disease, the medication prescribed, and what is expected of patients.“I felt so much better, just having that knowledge,” she said. “That’s why I became a counsellor myself. I tell patients that I may not feel their pain, but I know what they are going through and can help support and guide them.”The other Emerging Explorers awarded for 2008 are zoologist and physiological ecologist Martin Wikelski, biological anthropologist Jill Pruetz, and social environmental advocate Alexandra Cousteau, all from the US; Australian marine conservationist Brad Norman; Brazilian sustainable agriculture and development experts Cid Simoes and Paola Segura; wildlife conservationist Hammerskjoeld Simwinga from Zambia; Mongolian environmental conservationist Tsetsegee Munkhbayar; and new media cultural storytellers Sol Guy and Josh Thome from Canada.Do you have queries or comments about this article? Email Janine Erasmus at janinee@mediaclubsouthafrica.com. Related articlesHIV/Aids in South AfricaHealthcare in South AfricaUseful linksNational GeographicThe Positive Moms FoundationiThemba film projectWilliam J. Clinton FoundationSinikithemba iTeachEdendale HospitalUnicefWorld Health OrganisationDepartment of Health15th Retrovirus ConferenceAVERTMedia That Matters film festivalread more

8 Best WordPress Hosting Solutions on the Market chris cameron Why Tech Companies Need Simpler Terms of Servic… Tags:#start#startups A Web Developer’s New Best Friend is the AI Wai… Top Reasons to Go With Managed WordPress Hosting In the last few months, we’ve focused from time to time on design and how it affects startups. One of the larger issues that comes up that goes hand-in-hand with design is the copywriting that accompanies that design. The importance of carefully crafted wording can not be understated; after all, the words are what actually speaks to your audience when they visit your site. Copywriting is as much an art and a skill as design is, and that’s why the crowdsourced design network crowdSPRING is now including copywriting jobs for bids on their site. As of Wednesday, the popular service opened up their designer’s club to include copywriters. Now clients looking to crowdsource text for any use can log onto crowdSPRING, set up a contest for users to submit their work to, set a reward price, and watch the entries roll in. The writing jobs can be as short as a name for company or text for a website, or as long as an essay, script or book. Various types of writing jobs are grouped into five categories: business, creative, editing, naming and online.So far only ten jobs have been submitted, but the site’s network has already feverishly kicked into gear, submitting nearly 1500 entries in just over a day. The current projects range in reward payout from $200 to $1500, the latter being a private project asking for a presentation. Another of these first ten projects posted comes from the City of Chicago which is hosting an elevator pitch contest on the site. Chicago-based Small businesses can submit a written version of their 30 second pitch for a chance to win $500 and a free booth at the upcoming Small Business Expo in July. “By using crowdSPRING for our annual competition, we’re hoping to get some amazing elevator pitches,” said Chicago City Treasurer Stephanie Neely. “We’re optimistic we’ll find the talent we need and build buzz around our competition, and hope the innovative submission process will help drive participation and attendance around our business plan competition.”Earlier this week, we discussed whether crowdsourcing and outsourcing were wise business practices for startups. Some argued that early stage startups may be too fragile to rely too heavily on these practices, but most agreed that if used correctly, crowdsourcing and outsourcing could be valuable tools to startups. In this light, startups can certainly benefit from these new services provided by crowdSPRING.Startups without the sufficient staff to cover media and public relations can use the service to produce emails, newsletters, blogs and other materials they may not be able to create effectively on their own. First time entrepreneurs who’ve never written a business plan can now use the site to crowdsource a solution instead of toiling over it themselves, provided they give the applicants sufficient information regarding the company. At the very least, an entry like this could be modified or used as a starting point for a more involved plan.However, a startup may be reluctant to crowdsource business materials for fear of revealing private business information to the site’s users. What if a user sees a job for a business plan detailing a startups roadmap for success and decides to steal the idea? According to crowdSPRING, they have been forced to ban users for violating the site’s IP rules in the past.“We work together with our entire community… to identify possible violations of intellectual property,” the site says. “We expect that people in our community will share the community’s core values, which includes the protection of and respect for intellectual property.”It seems that IP security is not something crowdSPRING takes lightly, as this blog post makes very clear. For any business, theft of intellectual property is an inherent risk with oursourcing and crowdsouring, but it would seem that the service is going to great lengths to ensure their users are safe. Photo by Flickr user Unhindered by Talent. Related Posts read more

markhachman Cognitive Automation is the Immediate Future of… Massive Non-Desk Workforce is an Opportunity fo… IT + Project Management: A Love Affair 3 Areas of Your Business that Need Tech Now Related Posts Tags:#Microsoft Microsoft may be fined as early as January 2013 by the European Union for its failure to obey an earlier agreement to offer users a “browser choice” in Windows 7.The EU antitrust regulators are close to a decision that would be one of the first issued in 2013, EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia told reporters in a press conference today, as reported by Bloomberg. EU representatives were unavailable to provide further comment, and Microsoft declined to comment.In 2009, Microsoft agreed to include a randomized list of browser alternatives that users could install and set as the default, superseding Microsoft’s own Internet Explorer browser, if they so chose. The settlement agreement was good for five years, and covered versions of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 that were sold within the European Union.The settlement agreement was originally crafted as a result of a 2009 “statement of objections,” legal concerns that Microsoft had violated what was then known as Article 82 of the EC Treaty, “abusing its dominant position in the market for client PC operating systems through the tying of Internet Explorer to Windows,” in the EU’s words.That conclusion was markedly different than Microsoft’s own saga with the U.S. Department of Justice, a years-long spat that began with the government accusing Microsoft of illegally tying Internet Explorer to Windows, led to a proposed breakup of the company, and finally to a settlement that ensured Microsoft would merely allow open access to its APIs through 2007.Oops, We Did It AgainIn July 2012, Microsoft admitted that it had somehow neglected to include the “browser choice” within Windows 7 Service Pack 1. “While we have taken immediate steps to remedy this problem, we deeply regret that this error occurred and we apologize for it,” the company said in a statement. Microsoft said at the time that it had begun distributing the browser choice screen, which listed a dozen alternatives to Internet Explorer, the next day. It also offered to extend the so-called BCS screen by an additional 15 months. Finally, Microsoft said it had hired outside counsel to determine how the potential error occurred. Microsoft again apologized in October, and said it would make changes in how browser choice was implemented in Windows 8.In October of this year, the EU sent Microsoft another statement of objections, this time in response to Microsoft’s July admission. It’s that statement of objections that could prompt fines – or at least an amended settlement.With potential fines ranging as high as 15% Microsoft’s annual sales for the EU region, it’s clear that Microsoft would much prefer the inconsequential result of offering the browser choice screen for a prolonged period of time. At this point, it matters less to the company how users view the Internet, just that they use Microsoft’s Bing search engine and view ads that Microsoft sells. The only real advantage of customers using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is that it makes it easier to pushing them toward the company’s own search engine and ecosystem of services.EU: Tech WatchdogAlmunia also told reporters this week that the he expects Google to provide a “voluntary” Article 9 settlement under which the company would change its business practices, apparently to avoid steering users who search for a particular topic to its own services. The FTC is also reportedly near a similar settlement, but Politico reported that the EU’s decision to require Google to change its behavior would have a more powerful, longer-term impact on Google’s behavior.With the EU’s actions against Microsoft and Google, plus swift action in patent cases including Google’s Motorola unit, Samsung and Apple, the EU appears to be becoming the gateway for corporate behavior. Even if U.S. regulators allow companies like Microsoft to skate past their responsibilities, the EU has begun to step in and crack down.“This accentuates the lead role Europe has in setting standards for dominant firm behavior,” former FTC Chairman William Kovacic, immediate predecessor to current FTC chief Jon Leibowitz told Politico. “If the FTC does nothing more than say ‘Just tell us you’ll be good’ and the Europeans impose limitations as to how Google deploys their search product, it reinforces that Europe is the place to go to complain about dominant corporate behavior and get results.”read more

About the authorPaul VegasShare the loveHave your say Burnley’s two goal striker Chris Wood: We were at our bestby Paul Vegasa month agoSend to a friendShare the loveBurnley’s two goal striker Chris Wood praised the manner of their win over Norwich City.Norwich – fresh from beating champions Manchester City a week ago – never really threatened the lead as Sean Dyche’s men wrapped up a first win since the opening day with an accomplished display from back to front.“That’s what comes of it if we are at our best – we get the three points,” said Wood.“That’s what we try and strive to do every week and it’s nice to put in a great performance and get the three points out of it.“We thrive on home games and try and work hard to get those wins. Thankfully we got another one today and now we can build on that and go forward.“We knew we had a good four games (between international breaks) to hopefully get some points on the board and we’ve started pretty well.“You can look it very happily, knowing that we can build on it and move forward and hopefully get some more results.” read more

National TitleYesterday, we ranked the five most-overrated college football teams in the country based on the odds the sports books are giving them to win the national championship. Twitter/Playoff.You can see those five teams here. Now, we’re ranking the five most-underrated teams by the oddsmakers. These are five teams whose national championship odds are a little too low, in our opinion. So, yes, these five teams – in our opinion – would be good teams to bet on to win it all. As we did with the five most-overrated teams’ feature, we’re using Bovada’s national title odds, which you can see here. Here are the five most-underrated college football teams in the country heading into the season. Start With No. 5 ??? >>>Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6read more

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — After a snowy start to Spring in the Peace Region, the return of warm temperatures and sunny skies means good news for area farmers.Kelly Kassian, manager of Viterra in Fort St. John, says that though some areas are still quite muddy, if the forecast holds out for the next week, some farmers might be able to start plowing their fields as early as a week from now. Kassian explained that there is still a decent amount of snow in the bush, and farmers will have to contend with muddy field edges and standing water in low spots. But, he said some farmers in the river valleys might even be able to start seeding just after this coming weekend.Kassian said that nearly all farmers were able to get all of last season’s harvest off the fields, despite the late start to the season. He said that the only issues with last season’s harvest revolved around the delays in getting grain from Northeast B.C. to port. Kassian added that though January and February were slow, rail traffic has greatly increased in Fort St. John, meaning a large amount of the backlog has been taken care of. Kassian said that as long as things don’t get too wet or too dry, this season is shaping up so far to be pretty decent.read more

Bengaluru: Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar, appointed by the Supreme Court as a member of a panel to mediate the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, on Friday said everybody must move together to end long-standing conflicts. The three-member panel is headed by former apex court judge F M I Kallifulla and also includes senior advocate Sriram Panchu. “We must all move together towards ending long-standing conflicts happily by maintaining harmony in society,” Sri Sri Ravishankar said. “Respecting everyone, turning dreams to reality, ending long-standing conflicts happily and maintaining harmony in society – we must all move together towards these goals. #ayodhyamediation,” he tweeted. The Supreme Court on Friday referred the politically sensitive case for mediation and gave the panel eight weeks to complete the process. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the panel should file a progress report of the proceedings within four weeks and complete the process within eight weeks.read more

Rainy conditions at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium weren’t the only downside to the Ohio State men’s soccer team’s loss Wednesday. The No. 5-ranked Louisville Cardinals, which ended OSU’s season a year ago in the NCAA tournament, snapped the Buckeyes’ 12-game unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win. An 82nd minute goal from Louisville redshirt senior midfielder Kenney Walker gave the Cardinals the score they needed to come out on top. Louisville entered the game averaging 2.33 goals per game, but the first half of the game was a defensive battle. Louisville controlled the ball for most of the first half, but OSU junior goalie Matt Lampson was up to the task, making five saves in the half. The Cardinals attempted nine shots to OSU’s four in the first half. “(Matt) had a lot to do tonight,” OSU coach John Bluem said. “He handled everything that was thrown at him very well.” Junior midfielder Chris Hegngi stopped the Cardinal’s shooting streak, putting a shot slightly outside of the net with just under 11 minutes left in the first half. It was the only Buckeye shot-on-goal of the first half. At the 40-minute mark in the second half, Hegngi found OSU freshman forward Kenny Cuningham just feet from the net. Cunningham’s header brought the crowd to its feet, but his effort glanced off the crossbar and the game remained scoreless. “I saw it in the air and put my head on it,” Cunningham said. “I thought it was going in, but it was about six inches, maybe a foot from the line.” Inside the 37-minute mark of the second half, Cardinals senior forward Colin Rolfe put a shot on goal that appeared to be destined for the back of the net. But Lampson came up big, diving to ground just far enough to make a one handed stop and leaving the game tied. With 8:24 left in the contest, a Louisville throw-in was kicked around OSU’s penalty area and eventually made its way to Walker. Walker cracked a shot through the crowd of Buckeyes and Cardinals and the ball rolled by Lampson, giving the Cardinals the 1-0 lead. Hegngi got a wide open shot with under a minute left, but the ball sailed wide left. “It was really close… I just tried to get it to the post,” Hegngi said. “It was like an inch away. I’m really sorry I couldn’t score there.” The Cardinals went on to win, 1-0. “We know how we can play,” Cunningham said after the game. “We know we can go against anyone in the country.” Bluem said it was unfortunate that his team couldn’t score in the contest, saying, “If Cunningham scores five minutes into the second half on the header that hits the crossbar and we go up 1-0, then we make life very difficult for them.” On Sunday, the Buckeyes open Big Ten conference play at Michigan. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.read more